How worried should you be about West Nile virus? Berkeley public health professor Dr. Justin Remais discusses how to protect yourself from this mosquito-borne disease, as he notes another sharp rise in California’s West Nile virus activity. bit.ly/4cn0JpV

How worried should you be about West Nile virus?

Dr. Justin Remais of the UC Berkeley School of Public Health on how to protect yourself from this mosquito-borne disease.

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“Health optimization” and “body hacking” is all the rage as people strap on wearable technology and commit to diets to maximize longevity. However, Berkeley neurologist argues many health optimization interventions lack strong evidence and become pointless without a focus on brain health.

Amid trend in health optimization, Berkeley scientists focus on optimizing the brain - Berkeley News

What’s a healthy body without a healthy brain? Neurologists, neuroscientists and psychologists unite to find metrics for brain health and effective training to improve it.

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North and South America weren’t always connected, but their mammals still found a way to intermingle. Berkeley scientists uncovered fossil evidence that mammals on the two continents mixed long before the Panamanian land bridge formed about 3 million years ago. bit.ly/4wCamcn

North and South America weren’t always connected, but their mammals still found a way to intermingle - Berkeley News

Before the Panamanian land bridge formed about 3 million years ago, mammals on the two continents were isolated — or so biologists thought. New fossils show that they found ways to mix long before tha...

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New study by UC Berkeley researchers pinpoints human DNA inherited from ‘ghost’ ancestors. bit.ly/450g7Vp

New technique pinpoints human DNA inherited from ‘ghost’ ancestors - Berkeley News

Neanderthals and Denisovans interbred with modern human ancestors, leaving behind telltale DNA in our genomes. Now we have evidence of modern human interbreeding with two much older but unknown ancest...

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“Climate change isn’t just making malaria worse or better—it’s moving it.... We see relief in the current hotspots and new risk nearly everywhere else.” — Tamma Carleton, Berkeley professor Learn how climate change is redrawing the malaria map in Africa: bit.ly/4fCXETt

Feeling nostalgic 💙💛 [Video description: Photos and videos from the 90s of UC Berkeley's community, campus, and events, set to "Iris" by the Goo Goo Dolls. The first few seconds has text on-screen asking: “UC Berkeley, what were you like in the 90s?”]

NEW🏠RESEARCH: Moving out of the San Francisco Bay Area to another state increases your likelihood of becoming a homeowner 33% within 5 years. Housing prices are 50% lower, while rents are 33% lower in new communities. New from the nonpartisan California Policy Lab: capolicylab.org/priced-out-o...

Priced Out of the Bay - California Policy Lab

This report follows Bay Area households, showing who leaves, where they go, and how their finances and neighborhoods change after they move.

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Berkeley engineers have developed a breakthrough approach to overcoming the long-standing trade-off between speed, field of view, and resolution in optical microscopy. bit.ly/3U3BP8q

New research indicates that continued climate change could severely increase wildfire above natural levels at national parks. The study offers park managers data to reduce risks by using intentional fires to reduce the vegetation that can fuel more destructive wildfires. bit.ly/4x23btO

Does misinformation on Facebook and Instagram change what you believe? Berkeley Ph.D. student Olivier Bergeron-Boutin tested that question on both social media platforms during the 2020 presidential election. bit.ly/4vT7CXb

Always chasing a bigger challenge, Catherine Breed (BA Integrative Biology ’15) went from helping Cal win two NCAA titles to completing a 30-mile shark-infested swim. Now, she’s attempting her biggest feat yet: swimming 900 miles along the entire length of California’s coastline. bit.ly/44Dwuqr

UC Berkeley offers nearly 19,000 students admission to fall 2026 class—with approximately 14,000 first-year students and more than 5,000 transfer students.

UC Berkeley offers nearly 19,000 students admission to fall 2026 class - Berkeley News

More than 9,400 of the newly admitted class of first-year students are from California, representing 48 of the state's 58 counties.

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Coral reefs are dying. A new film by award-winning documentary filmmaker and journalism professor Jason Spingarn-Koff follows the researchers racing climate change to save the last of Florida’s coral reefs. bit.ly/4wmxyeG

Flipping the script: A Q&A with Jason Spingarn-Koff about his new film “The Coral Rescuers” and what it’s like to get back into the director’s chair

UC Berkeley Journalism offers a two-year Master of Journalism (MJ) degree and a summer minor, preparing students for careers in journalism.

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When exposed to ship noise, sperm whales alter their calls. @projectceti.bsky.social linguistics lead and Berkeley professor Gašper Beguš shares how these shifts provide a window into decoding whale communication—with hopes for this data to aid conservation efforts.

When ships are nearby, sperm whales change their calls

In the presence of noise from ships, sperm whales change how they communicate, scientists find.

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UC Berkeley author Bora Lee Reed immigrated from Korea as a child in the 1970s. In her new novel, Reed builds on her family’s experience and her research into the devastating Korean War to tell a deeply human story of struggle, loss and reunion. bit.ly/45shpsc

Dean Erwin Chemerinsky was one of five recipients — including music icon @brucespringsteen.net and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick — of the @aclu.org Ralph Ellison Award for Defenders of Civil Rights and Civil Liberties: https://bit.ly/44W0bmX #BerkeleyLaw

ACLU Honors Dean Chemerinsky, Springsteen, Kaepernick, Two Others

Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky was one of five recipients — including music icon Bruce Springsteen and former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick — of the ACLU’s Ralph Ellison […]

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How navigating the violent realities of being young, Black and female in America helped shape Frances M. Beal’s pioneering work in social justice feminism.

Berkeley Talks: The making of a pioneering Black feminist - Berkeley News

UC Berkeley Professor Ula Taylor reads excerpts from her book project on activist Frances M. Beal, whose life and politics helped forge modern social justice movements.

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Children speak fluently long before learning what a “noun” is. Using this analogy, linguistics professor Gašper Beguš highlights the gap between using language and reasoning about it—arguing that AI doesn’t need consciousness to make genuinely creative leaps. #Conlang #Linguistics #AI

Science Magazine@science.org · 3w ago

An #AI system that can construct new languages is fueling debate over the role of human creativity in language construction. https://scim.ag/4ffYfdE

“How do we find purpose? How do you find a sense of calling no matter what you’re doing?” Berkeley psychology professor Dr. Dacher Keltner answers these questions in a recent feature on The Mel Robbins Podcast. #Psychology #Purpose #Happiness bit.ly/4wTxe6V

Why are fans flocking to the new horror-comedy ‘Widow’s Bay’? Berkeley professor Abigail De Kosnik explains why the hit TV show’s mix of genre play, dark humor, and original storytelling has resonated so widely. #WidowsBay #TVAnalysis #HorrorComedy

Ancient lore meets small-town politics: Why fans are flocking to 'Widow’s Bay' - Berkeley News

UC Berkeley Professor Abigail De Kosnik explains why the new horror-comedy’s mix of genre play, dark humor and original storytelling has resonated so widely.

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UC Berkeley’s Possibility Lab creates a new model for higher education by ensuring everyday Californians shape state policy. Through civic engagement, they turn public insights on key issues, including housing and climate, into data lawmakers can use. #CivicEngagement #PublicPolicy bit.ly/4wl15Fu

Swipe to chase the sunset around campus ➡️🌅 Photos by Brandon Yu (Microbial Biology B.S. ’26) #UCBerkeley #Cal #BerkeleyPOV

As the U.S. turns 250, UC Berkeley honors changemakers like Public Health alum Judith Heumann, MPH '75. Her 1960s campus fight for accessibility sparked the national movement that inspired the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act. Read more: https://ow.ly/sBNB50Zp6lW #ADA #DisabilityRights

ICYMI hashtag#OBI's latest Blog on #WorldCup & #Belonging by Jose Richard Aviles "Belonging is in the fans' hands, and the question is whether we can carry it beyond the game. What would it mean to alchemize fandom into civic life?"

As the nation marks 250 years, Berkeley historians hope Americans consider the experiences of Indigenous nations, enslaved and emancipated people, immigrants, and historically overlooked communities. #America250 #CriticalHistory #PublicMemory

America at 250: What Berkeley historians want us to remember

Beyond the barbecues, fireworks and other festivities, the United States’ 250th birthday was cause for many Americans to reflect on the nation’s founding, identity and future. While many stories retol...

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Do faculty have the academic freedom to say anything in class? https://youtube.com/shorts/yzI2cFpUFEs #ItsTheLaw #BerkeleyLaw

Do faculty have academic freedom to say anything in class?

YouTube video by UC Berkeley School of Law

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High water pressure and fluid currents cause destructive mechanical fatigue and stress in solid structures. Berkeley and @harvard.edu researchers researchers designed metamaterials inspired by nature that suppress turbulence and boost strength by 140%. #MaterialsScience #FluidDynamics #Engineering

New metamaterials take inspiration from deep-sea sponges - Berkeley Engineering

Researchers look to nature to design material with dual mechano-fluidic properties

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Researchers from UC Berkeley and Physicians for Human Rights are strengthening police accountability by launching a public data map exposing 412 verified incidents of crowd-control weapon misuse at immigration protests across U.S. cities. #HumanRights #ImmigrationPolicy #Accountability

Widespread Misuse of Crowd-Control Weapons by Law Enforcement at Immigration Enforcement Protests, New Report Finds - Berkeley Human Rights Center

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Ancient Roman concrete survives for millennia by chemically self-healing its own cracks through carbonation. This discovery provides @berkeleyengineer.bsky.social a blueprint for designing highly durable, lower-carbon modern infrastructure. #CivilEngineering #Sustainability #MaterialsScience

Researchers shed new light on ancient concrete’s extraordinary durability - Berkeley Engineering

New findings reveal how carbonation could help explain Roman concrete’s longevity over thousands of years

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After being shot five times in a gang-related incident, Danny Muñoz spent his recovery in deep reflection. Today, he’s a “Double Bear” (Sociology ’23, MPP ’25) and a Senior Policy Analyst with Legal Services for Prisoners with Children—tackling the root causes of systemic injustice. bit.ly/4wgnMKP